Joss Whedon. Just the mere mention of the name has me jumping up and down and reciting some of his greatest works, no, I mean singing. Doctor Horrible Sing-a-long Blog is my go to. Oh yeah. http://drhorrible.com/

He has been influencing us for decades with his strong female characters and witty humour. Oh, we loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer for more than Luke Perry’s ass (the movie) and Spike (the tv show). We loved the switch from dumb blonde in distress to kick the bad guy’s ass and look good while doing it.

Echo in Dollhouse who overcame everything thrown at her to stop the corporation’s control over people.

The ragtag team we all love in Firefly. Zoe with her cool killer instinct married to jittery Wash, Inara as the respectable call girl, Kaylee as the sweet mechanic little sister to all, Simon and River as the runaways with issues, Preacher as a preacher, Jayne oh sweet muscular buttocks Jayne, and Captain Mal holding them together. Why did they cancel the series?! It was brilliant. Yes, the film Serenity made up for it a little, but still. We should’ve had five or six seasons to enjoy.

Yeah, he’s into the family unit we all create around ourselves with our friends and the trust and support it brings. And the dangers when those are betrayed. No spoiler alerts here! Nothing to see. Nope.

I love his writing and the way each story goes for the heart. The second Avengers film was more with Whedon’s A game stuff. Philosophical issues, the fears we all have coming to light, and good story flow. The first film was too much ego; the characters, the studios, and the franchise. We needed the second film to remind everyone that the characters are more than a two dimensional drawing. As an audience we had to find our emotional connection with them again.

If anyone should have Joss Whedon’s email address, PLEASE send it to me. I want to talk with this man and see the crazy ideas that lurk in his mind. I want to know more about who he models his strong women on. I want to work with him on any sort of project, especially if it is for one of his famed Shakespeare adaptations. Much Ado About Nothing may or may not have inspired me to write Summertime Madness the way it has been written. Just saying.

So when I start throwing his name about, please know it, so I don’t have to explain how imbedded in our pop-culture he is.